Louis

“Before using the Stonebranch solution, our job planning was carried out exclusively via SM37 — without central control and with a great deal of manual effort. It was difficult to recognize dependencies between processes. Now, we have a central platform for job planning and control that offers us significantly more transparency and efficiency.”

-Sascha Schwarz, SAP Basis Administrator, Louis

Key Outcomes

• Centralized control: Unified job scheduling across all SAP systems and clients.
• Automated workflows: Enterprise-wide coordination of ERP, CAR, and EWM processes
• Dependency mapping: End-to-end visibility into process chains and job dependencies.
• Reduced manual effort: IT teams can focus on strategic, high-value initiatives.

Background

Detlev Louis MotorradVertriebsgesellschaft mbH is Europe’s leading retailer of motorcycle apparel, gear, and accessories, with a legacy spanning more than 85 years. Headquartered in Germany, the company operates more than 85 branches across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, supported by multilingual online sales platforms. 

With a catalog of over 55,000 motorcycle-related products — including luggage, spare parts, and maintenance tools — Louis serves riders across the continent. The company distributes a mix of exclusive in-house brands like Detlev Louis Motorcycle Gear, Vanucci, and Rothewald, as well as products from 500+ global manufacturers. 

As a recognized innovator in its field, Louis continuously enhances its operational processes to maintain leadership in both retail performance and customer experience.

Challenges

As part of its modernization efforts, Louis identified key challenges in their SAP job planning process: 

• Manual scheduling: Jobs were manually managed in SM37 across multiple SAP systems.
• No central control: It wasn’t possible to centralize orchestration across ERP modules for retail, customer activity repository (CAR), and extended warehouse management (EWM).
• No process visibility: Dependencies couldn’t be defined or monitored between processes.
• High maintenance effort: Manual coordination led to time-consuming planning and troubleshooting.

The Solution

Supported by the Stonebranch solution, Louis introduced centralized and integrated job planning. SAP jobs could be managed across systems and planned with interdependencies in mind. The team was particularly impressed by the solution’s simple and intuitive operation, smooth implementation, and knowledgeable, service-oriented project support. Stonebranch helps Louis automate and efficiently:

• Forecast demand for retail stores
• Maintain article master data and conditions
• Manage master data
• Analyze availability

The Results

By introducing the Stonebranch solution, Louis reduced planning effort by 40% while significantly increasing transparency and oversight across multiple SAP systems. The ability to define dependencies centrally has made daily SAP Basis work noticeably easier and has sustainably improved maintainability. 

The solution’s intuitive interface and expert support delivered value at every stage — from planning through to implementation — ensuring a smooth rollout and long-term operational success.